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Flying w/ 4-month old who only nurses lying down ....

Hi Ladies,

Need some tips or ideas. I'm flying with my 4-month old (and DH and 2.5 toddler) this weekend.

Other than all the packing and traveling stress, I'm a bit worried about LO as he will usually only nurse laying down. Started when he was about 3 months old and when I started to have a forceful letdown. For a whole month now, he hardly lets me craddle him to nurse.... If he does, only for a couple minutes. I've also tried laying back more but he still refuses.

I would normally nurse during take off and landing.... But what if he refuses? He doesn't take a bottle well (or should I say at all) nor does he really know how to use a paci.

The flight is 5 hours. I am sure he will eventually nurse when he is super hungry and maybe after offering/ trying a dozen times .... But I worry he won't at those critical moments and might be uncomfortable or in pain from the air pressure....

Thoughts? Suggestions?

Thanks!

Last edited by @llli*bbbsmama; June 24th, 2013 at 05:27 PM.
Reason: Typos... :)

Re: Flying w/ 4-month old who only nurses lying down ....

Mom or Dad's clean pinky finger tip can make a great pacifier.

My baby likes this kind of half laid back half sidelying position. I do it sitting on a couch or chair, and instead of leaning back square onto my back, I am half turned on to my side. Baby lays supported on my right arm, (for example) sort of more or less on her side put a little on her front, facing into me, and nurses on the right side. I think I could totally do this on an airplane especially if I was in a seat where I could move the armrest up.

Or any position that would put baby in a more "laid out straight" position similar to sidelying, rather then cradled may help. So again maybe like picture above (biut with mom sitting up more as you would on the airplane) and baby straddling one of moms legs, for example, or lying at an angle across mom, etc.

Does your toddler nurse? If not, we have had good success with lollipops for the older kids to suck on during take off and landing. Make sure not too much candy though, because that leads to other problems...Which begs the question, what is worse for fellow travelers- screaming kids or kids making appropriate use of air sickness bags?

Re: Flying w/ 4-month old who only nurses lying down ....

Mine refused to nurse any way but lying down, starting at about 3 months also. We also took a cross-country flight with him around 4 months. It turned out that the whole airport/airplane thing was stressful enough for him that he wanted to nurse even if it was far more upright than usual.

Re: Flying w/ 4-month old who only nurses lying down ....

When I flew with my then 9-week old (4 flights in 2 days), she didn't seem to be bothered at all by the air pressure, even when she didn't want to nurse during take-off/landing. So your baby might surprise you and be happy!

Re: Flying w/ 4-month old who only nurses lying down ....

So just an update. LO ended up nursing well on take-off... And also during mid-flight. He did so-so on the way down but overall didn't seem bothered at all. I hope the flight home will be okay too.

My toddler, on the other hand, was acting up and kicking the chair in front of him like it was his job,,,, not fun! He did get a lollipop on the way down which helped bc he said his ears wasn't feeling well... But the sucking helped!